The Panthers had the home field advantage at the Old Gun Club in their playoff victory over Loyola-Chicago this past weekend.
The Ramblers kicked the ball to Milwaukee and the match was under way. Within two minutes, the Panthers started the scoreboard with a try. A try is a scoring technique in which the player must ground the ball while maintaining contact with it, followed by an easy conversion in which a player must kick the ball through the goal.
The Ramblers did not take too long to react and got their first try after a penalty against the Panthers.
Due to the Panther’s forward passes and Ramblers’ good defense, the Panthers were unable to control the ball and score until 20 minutes in.
Ten minutes later at the 30 minute mark, the Panthers had the opportunity to kick and convert a penalty against the Ramblers.
At halftime, the score was 29 to 12 with Panthers in the lead.
Although Milwaukee kept the lead, UW-Milwaukee player Brennen Streff said that the Panthers came out a little slow in the first half. According to him, the plan was to come out harder in the second half.
The game concluded with another win for the Panthers, 28 to 14.
“Today was really tough for UWM,” team captain Riley Ellingosn said. “It was really hard, Loyola is a tough team.”
This is the first playoff game Ellingson has seen the Panthers win since joining the team.
The Panthers plan to head to Cottage Grove next weekend for their second playoff game. They are expecting a tough week of practice ahead in preparation if they want to continue their road to the championship
“We’ve seen a huge turn around in the program,” Ellingson said. “Hopefully we keep the ball rolling.”